May I recommend one more missile for your arsenal? Better build a bunker/missile launch site for this one, it's a nuke ... + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - Geological Perspectives of Global Climate Change AAPG Studies in Geology # 47 Edited by Lee C. Gerhard, William E. Harrison and Bernold M. Hanson Published by the American Association of Petroleum Geologists in collaboration with the Kansas Geological Survey and the AAPG Division of Environmental Geosciences; contributions by the U.S. Geological Survey, March 2001 Excerpts follow: INTRODUCTION This highly illuminating volume presents a series of peer-reviewed scientific papers, selected to provide a geological perspective of current concerns about anthropogenic effects on Earth's climate. The selection of papers is both highly relevant and objective. Every effort has been made to present facts, leaving the reader free to reach his or her own conclusions on the likelihood of a man-made climate catastrophe resulting from emissions of greenhouse gases and the advisability of basing international environmental policies on the IPCC's GCM-based estimates of climate change in the near future. Despite the editors' meticulous avoidance of favoring one view over another, it is impossible not to conclude from the papers selected that the present warming trend is caused predominantly, if not entirely, by natural phenomena. Anthropogenic effects on temperature cannot be distinguished in the present warming, as the planet recovers from the Little Ice Age with resulting temperature changes within the expected range. The comparison with past climate changes and the analysis of all known climate change drivers effectively deflate the politically-driven sense of urgency to act in order to avoid a man-made climate calamity. Indeed, the book's collection of insight seriously questions whether the concept of man-induced climate change reversal is feasible at all. ... First order controls include solar system geometry, solar luminosity and Earth's atmosphere, which evolved over the past 4.5 billion years and makes Earth's climate some 20 to 400C warmer than it would otherwise be. Second order controls are given by the distribution of oceans and continents, which determines the heat-distributing characteristics of ocean currents. These controls explain the 15 to 200C variations over periods of up to hundreds of millions of years. Massive climate changes occurred in the distant past when continental drift obstructed equatorial currents, forcing warm surface water to be diverted to low latitudes and triggering an icehouse state such as the one we are in now. In late Cretaceous, some 90 million years ago, there was no land obstacle to fully developed equatorial currents and the planet was in a greenhouse state with atmospheric CO2 concentrations some three times higher than now. ... Third order controls include Earth's orbital changes, solar variability, large-scale oceanographic oscillations and long ocean tide cycles, capable of causing temperature changes on the order of 5 to 150C over centuries to hundreds of thousands of years, such as the roughly 100,000-year-long ice ages predictably occurring in concert with Earth's rythmic orbital changes, its changes in angle of rotation and its precessive movement. Fourth order controls comprise a number of drivers affecting minor temperature changes of as much as 50C over periods of several centuries or less. El Niqo/La Niqa, volcanic eruptions, meteorite impacts and changes in solar activity are the natural drivers in this category; arguably, one might also list anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases (CH4 and CO2) here as well. More ... + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - Copies of the book are available from the Kansas Geological Survey, 1930 Constant Ave., Lawrence, KS 66047 (785) 864-3965 for $49 plus $6 per copy for postage and handling. Kansas residents should add 6.9% sales tax. RF Jim ----- Original Message ----- From: "Brendan Moran" To: Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2002 6:58 PM Subject: Re: [OT]: Is GP fabricating Global Warming evidentiary material? > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > Jim, > I'm going to have to thank you for this whole discussion. I know > someone that I have been trying to convince that Global warming is, > at best, merely a hypothesis for quite some time. As I was a bit > short on hard evidence, and good sources, I have not been able, as of > yet, to show them that the GPers are a bit out to lunch. Now, in > this thread, I'm picking up enough info to at least get a really good > argument going >:) > - --Brendan > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: PGPfreeware 6.5.8 for non-commercial use > > iQA/AwUBPWQpGQVk8xtQuK+BEQJHqwCgolz87mUaXcXKiw6gbDO893mMyo4AmwRz > EU5daVEKshR/QcoYXi5QTE8a > =3z7N > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- > > -- > http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics > (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics > -- http://www.piclist.com hint: The list server can filter out subtopics (like ads or off topics) for you. See http://www.piclist.com/#topics